What you see on Cable News

Cable news shows are certainly a different format and use a different approach to news than network stations. Cable news is sometimes watched for its entertainment value and the controversy and drama that unfolds. I'm not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg, but this is certainly influenced by their choice in topics:

To put that into perspective, if one were to have watched five hours of
cable news, one would have seen about:
35 minutes about campaigns and elections
36 minutes about the debate over U.S. foreign policy
26 minutes or more of crime
12 minutes of accidents and disasters
10 minutes of celebrity and entertainment
On the other hand, one would have seen:
1 minute and 25 seconds about the environment
1 minute and 22 seconds about education
1 minute about science and technology 3 minutes and 34 seconds about the economy
3 minutes and 46 seconds about health and health care

These choices reflect a psychological approach to programming. They are using people's emotions as a means to draw them in and hopefully keep them watching. Just like a bad accident, we can't help but keep our eyes glued to the fighting that sometimes breaks out on cable programs. And this is what is on 18 hours a day. The issues that people care about, but mostly agree on (at least agree that these things need fixed) see very little airtime because they are boring in comparison to the charged conversations about controversial topics. Is it fair for cable to virtually neglect these important issues because they don't boost ratings? Are we being cheated?